“I guess I’m known as that firmware-poking guy,” says Hamza Sood, the young hacker who most recently found a way to create and add custom watch faces to Apple Watch.
Cult of Mac chatted with the London-based 19-year-old via email to find out more about what makes him tick.
In support of the Apple Watch’s increased availability in the U.K., Apple has taken over all 24 windows at the iconic Selfridges’ shopping center in London to promote the new timepiece.
Apple opened a store within a store concept a Selfridges’ earlier this year. The gigantic new displays mimics the Apple Watch’s floral clock faces, with some flowers reaching up to 1.8 meters in height.
Here’s another look:
Sometimes trademarks are about defending brand names you’ve spent years and millions of dollars building up. Other times they’re meant as jealous, petty ways of striking back at people who are doing better than you.
Guess which category Swatch’s decision to trademark Steve Jobs’ iconic “One more thing” signature phrase falls under.
Looks like we’ve got some wear issues on the Apple Watch, especially the Space Gray ones. There are posts on Reddit and the Apple Discussion Forums that show both the Apple logo and actual text etched into the back of the watches peeling off.
Apple Discussions user dougie70w says that he bought his Apple Watch at the beginning of June “and the band started to peel part so bad that I replaced it with an after market metal band that I purchaced on Amazon.”
He’s got an appointment at a local Apple Store today and hopes that having Apple Care will let him get a replacement.
Kansas City Royals coach, Ned Yost was been slapped on the wrist by the MLB for wearing his Apple Watch during games, even though they’re the ones that gave it to him.
Yost received the watch as a gift from the MLB for serving as the American League manager in the All-Star Game, but after the manager was repeatedly seen wearing the device in the dugout, the MLB decided to step in and try to stop him from using it in games.
Hamza Sood – the same hacker who managed to bring Flappy Bird to the Apple Watch as a native app – has just hacked Apple’s wearable to do something just as cool: run custom watch faces.
Your Apple Watch tells you to stand up periodically to maintain your health. It’s a small feature, but it’s actually one of the Apple Watch’s killer apps.
If you don’t have an Apple Watch, though, you’re in luck. There’s a new app in town that does the same thing.
Despite many theoretical improvement, lithium ion batteries remain a very slowly progressing technology. Moore’s Law keeps on helping our gadgets better at conserving batteries, but the batteries themselves aren’t keeping pace with Moore’s Law when it comes to increasing capacity.
But a new innovation by a team of forgetful researchers might change all that: they’ve figured out how to quadruple a li-ion battery’s lifespan.
Some stars are just too big for the 18-karat gold Apple Watch Edition. One of them is rapper and The Fast and the Furious actor Ludacris, who rocked up at the Teen Choice Awards on Sunday night sporting a custom Apple Watch studded with diamonds.
If you compare the Apple Watch to dedicated fitness tracking devices, it comes up short, and the forthcoming watchOS 2 will do little to address these limitations. Instead, with this update Apple is focusing on helping improve third-party fitness apps.
That’s because Apple sees its wearable as the main component of a fitness platform, with the Activity app as hub. While the built-in Workout app is mostly for beginners, third-party apps will provide the missing features for hardcore users.
This week, Apple has released a ton of new updates into the wild, including better-and-better versions of iOS 8, an iTunes that does Apple Music a bit better, and a Boot Camp that will let you run Windows 10 on your Mac. Try that on your Chromebook.
We’ve got a ton more, too, like killer tips and tricks for the public beta of iOS 9, a slick feature on trailblazer photographers who took selfies back in the day, and some ideas on how Apple Watch should track weightlifting sessions at your local gym.
All that and much, much more in this week’s Cult of Mac Magazine
(Note: Because of Cult of Mac’s recent redesign, some images are not displaying properly in this week’s issue of Cult of Mac Magazine. We apologize in advance — and we’re working on it.)
Apple Watch owners with gigantic wrists are getting some relief today from Apple with a new set of extra-long bands that that can wrap around wrists up to 245mm.
The Apple Store is now stocking a new Link Bracelet Kit that can an add up to six additional stainless steel links to the 42mm Link bracelet. Apple is also introducing some new XL Sport bands for those using the cheaper model.
Making games can be as fun as playing them, and the key to mastering both is practice. After working through this bundle of lessons, you’ll be ready for the iOS game-making equivalent of Carnegie Hall. Covering the how-tos with over 20 games in four different genres, this package from StackSkills usually goes for over $2,000. But right now the whole thing is just $20 at Cult of Mac Deals.
After announcing its new Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 edge+ in New York City this morning, Samsung promised the next big thing is right around the corner.
The South Korean company was referring to its new Gear S2 smartwatch — its first with a round display — which will get its full reveal on September 3.
While Apple doesn’t recommend submerging the Apple Watch in water, there have been a number of swimmers who say their watches have held up to workouts in the pool.
But since Apple probably won’t honor a warranty for a Watch that stopped after a shower, why risk it? Catalyst, whose waterproof iPhone cases come highly rated by customers and tech journalists, has introduced a line of waterproof cases for the Apple Watch.
The Apple Watch is the most functional smartwatch you can slap on your wrist, but when it comes to style, it still leaves a lot to be desired. Russian design team Feld & Volk is ready to fix that, though, with an Apple Watch concept that draws upon the latest watchmaking trends used by top manufacturers.
You got an Apple Watch, congrats! It’s a beautiful, powerful, pricey bit of tech that’s also just a sharp table corner or door handle away from ruining your day. Make sure your new acquisition stands the test of time with Spigen’s protective Apple Watch protector and matching power stand. Right now the combo is just $21.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.
Jay Blahnik has been one of Apple’s key hires in getting the Apple Watch and now in one of his first extensive interviews since joining the company, Apple’s fitness guru has revealed how his teams of experts tried to differentiate the Apple Watch in the hugely competitive new wearables market.
When it came down to making Apple Watch, it wasn’t just about making something that looks good that also tracks your steps and calories. Blahnik tells Outside that Apple’s goal was to silence the noise by ignoring the fitness trends and focusing in on the three things that mattered the most.
Here are seven key things we learned from the interview:
As a fitness tracker, Apple Watch is currently little more than a fancy pedometer. It only tracks distance and calories — the quantity, not the quality, of your movement. That’s a problem because fitness is about more than burning calories.
However, an interesting patent from Apple — plus a new technology claimed to be “Siri for understanding human movement” — suggests that Apple Watch could soon be adding weightlifting to its repertoire. Which would be good news for gym-goers and CrossFitters everywhere.
The Apple Watch just went on sale in Russia on July 31, but if you’re looking to get something extra special to celebrate your favorite Russian dictators leaders, luxury design firm Caviar has the perfect timepiece for you.
Apple Watch is changing the face (pun intended) of user interaction and design. But developing its next generation of apps also requires having a foot in the still-vibrant world of iOS. Lucky for you budding Watch whizzes, we’ve found a bundle of 5 courses that bridge the worlds of wearable and mobile development, by teaching essential skills through building real, working apps on both platforms. And right now it’s going for 93% off, $25 at Cult of Mac Deals.
MadeWorn made a name for itself putting insanely detailed engravings on expensive Rolexes for celebrities willing to shell out thousands of dollars for the custom timepieces. Now the Los Angeles-based company has put founder and artist Blaine Halvorson’s touch on the Apple Watch — and it looks absolutely crazy.
Most luxury watch makers are desperately coming up with a plan to keep traditional watch wearers from upgrading to Apple’s decadent smartwatch, but California-based Nico Gerard has decided to follow the age-old adage, if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.
For the company’s new Pinnacle line of Swiss timepieces launching on Monday, the watch maker has created a special bracelet that lets you slap a 38mm Apple Watch to the inside of your wrist. It’s like the mullet of smartwatches, business in the front, party in the back.
Check it out:
We have the technology. We can make the Cult of Mac website better than it was. Better, stronger, faster.
We can and we did (and it didn’t cost us $6 million, either). In this week’s issue of Cult of Mac Magazine for iPhone and iPad, you’ll get the scoop on our website’s redesign, plus updates on Apple TV, opinions on Apple Watch and some totally disarming selfies.
Using a running app to log your workouts is a great way to track your progress and stay motivated. But have you considered who actually owns the workout data you are logging?
If you ever decide to switch apps, you might be in for a surprise. While some services, like Strava, make it easy to transfer your data, with others it can be difficult or even impossible.